Stitch In Time
by pandorabox82
Summary: When Hotch lands in the hospital with a possible concussion, Rossi keeps him company, and they tell each other stories of their childhoods to keep his mind active.


"Did I ever tell you the story about when I was a baby?"

Hotch looked over at his best friend, his eye throbbing in pain. Lightly, he touched his fingers to his forehead, trying to stop the room from spinning as he focused on Dave. "No, you don't really talk a lot about your childhood. And I'm not certain I'll believe anything you tell me right now. You could just be wanting to make me feel better."

Dave let out a laugh as he shook his head. "No. Anything I tell you will be forgotten in a haze of painkillers. This is the perfect time to tell you."

A tight frown crossed his lips, making him wince as the motion pulled at the stitches above his eye socket. "Fine, go on, tell me a baby story." Hotch leaned back against his pillows and closed his eyes, intent on letting Dave's voice lull him to sleep.

"Remember, the doctor said that you could have a concussion, so I'm not supposed to let you fall asleep just yet. You won't like it if I have to poke you awake every fifteen minutes."

"David, if you poke me, you might just lose a damn finger. Now tell me your story."

Again, his best friend laughed, and Hotch felt the bed dip a little. Opening his eyes up a little, he saw that Dave had propped his legs up on his bed, his hands resting on his stomach as he leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "I was always a problem child."

He snorted, and again, the motion hurt his face. "That does not come as a shock to me."

"Be quiet. If you interrupt me, the story will never be finished." Hotch shrugged. "Fine. We'll just sit here in silence, listening to the seconds tick by on the clock."

Hotch could just imagine the slight pout that his best friend was wearing at the moment, and shook his head a little, groaning under his breath when that same dizzy feeling swept over him. "I'm sorry, I'll try to be in a better mood. You know I hate hospitals."

"I do. I would too, if I had been in your position. At least this time it's nothing more major than a few stitches above your eyebrow. What will Beth think about your new scar?"

He shrugged a little before opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. "We're taking a break at the moment. Now please, continue on with your story."

"I haven't really started, Hotch." He smiled to hear the faint archness in Dave's voice and closed his eyes once more as he prepared to listen. "Now, as I was saying, being the baby, I was always a problem child, even from the moment I was born. I was almost five weeks late, and my mother swore that I was building a house in her womb and never coming out."

The image made Hotch laugh, something he regretted as the stitches pulled taut once more. "I can see you doing something like that."

"Hush. So, after I was finally born, I developed colic like you wouldn't believe. Cried and screamed for the longest time. And by the time I had calmed down enough to start walking? Well, that's where this story begins."

"Finally," he muttered, only to feel Dave playfully kick his leg. "Ow! You should take pity on an invalid like me."

"You are the furthest thing from an invalid, Hotch. So, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, when I was about a year and a half old, Mom had to run some errands, and Pop was at work, which meant that she had two options – take me with her or have my older sister watch me for the hour or so that she'd be gone."

"And your sister won out."

"Yep. Worst mistake Mom ever made. So, not even ten minutes after she left, Silvia decided that it would be a good idea for us to go outside and play. Commack was always a busy city, given that we're on Long Island, but it wasn't like it is today. Well, her little friend from next door came over, and they got to playing some game, and the next thing she knew, I was gone."

Hotch frowned a little, thinking about how he would react if Sean had ever gone missing. "What did she do?"

"Mom was never too clear about that part, though Silvia said that she had never seen Mom or Pop that angry with any of us. So, Silvia rounded up my brother and sisters and they began to canvas the back yards, looking for me. Only, I wasn't in the back yard. By the time my mother was coming home, I was almost a mile away from home, toddling down the sidewalk. She pulled over and scooped me up, looking around for any of my siblings."

"You were a lucky boy, Dave."

"That I was. If only my luck had held out."

From the sound of his voice, Aaron knew that he was thinking about his ex-wives and former lovers. "We can't have everything in this world, Dave."

"I know that. I just have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that after Erin got out of WitSec, she left me behind and hooked up with JJ, of all people! I mean, I'm glad they're happy, but…"

"But you miss her. I get it."

Dave made a low noise of agreement and then changed how his feet were positioned on the bed. "All right, I told you a story, you tell me a story. I need to keep that brain of yours active, especially if you're going to be keeping a thumb on Morgan and Garcia."

Hotch tried not to smile too much, since his face starting to ache. "They'll be fine."

"No, they'll be having children right and left if they aren't careful. And you can't weasel out of telling me a baby story, Aaron. I demand to know if you were as cute of a baby as Jack was."

"I was born stone faced and serious, David." The man hmphed, and he shrugged a little. "Well, I had to be. Someone had to learn and learn fast to not show emotion. Sean was the volatile one, the one who flew off the handle and caused Daddy to get angry. I had to protect my brother from him. And look how good that turned out for me."

There was a long pause before Dave spoke again. "Your father was a bastard."

"Tell me something that I don't know."

Another pause. "I fantasize about the two of us being invited into JJ and Erin's bedroom. I mean, I know what Erin looks like naked, I know those gorgeous sounds she makes when she comes. I know the way that her breasts swell to fill my hands when she's aroused, and how if I tweak her nipples just so that she can get off on just that."

Hotch bit his lip, not wanting to picture his former boss in the throes of pleasure, or his best friend getting her off. "Fine, I will give you a happy baby story."

"Good, because I was about to describe how I pictured Erin and JJ together."

A low groan tumbled from his lips, and he tried to surreptitiously adjust himself, to relieve some of the pressure from the blood rushing to his groin. "You always try to push the envelope, don't you, Dave? Now I know that I'm going to have dreams involving them running through my head tonight." Dave laughed loudly, which made him smile and then wince. "All right, so, my first Christmas, Mom got me the most impractical stuffed animal. I had it until I went to law school, even though my college buddies teased me unmercifully. I loved that damn rabbit, and it was only when it became too tattered to keep that I had to throw him away."

"Let me guess, your mom read you _The Velveteen Rabbit_, too."

Hotch gave a small nod. "How did you ever guess?"

"Because you hung on to it for so long. Somewhere, deep in your heart you believed that there was a little shred of truth to it." He let out a soft sigh. "I thought the same thing. I kept my own stuffed bear until James was born. I thought that he would like to have it, when he went to Heaven." The crack in Dave's voice nearly broke his heart, and he nodded as he tried to keep his tears in check.

"What do you remember about James?" he finally asked.

"How much he looked like Carolyn. It really was amazing that someone so small could resemble her. He didn't cry. The doctor said that he made a little mewling noise when they suctioned the mucus out of his mouth and nose, but by the time they let us hold him, he was so quiet. He moved a little, which made it harder on us. I loved him from the moment I knew about him, and then God took him home." Once more, Dave's voice broke, and Hotch turned up his hand, waggling his fingers a little. His best friend took the hint and clasped it tightly. "By the time I was ready to try for another baby, Carolyn was ready to move on."

"Isn't it funny how life works?" he mused, squeezing his best friend's hand a few times. "I'm starting to feel sleepy, Dave. Do I have to stay awake?"

"No, you should be fine to sleep now. I'll stay until they release you from the hospital. Do you want me to have Erin and Jen run us by anything?"

"Maybe a cheeseburger later on? JJ knows where to get my favorite one."

"I'll have them swing by in about four hours, then. Rest now." This time, it was Dave who squeezed his hand, and Hotch smiled as he let himself drift off, looking forward to seeing the women later on. And maybe he could convince them to help spring him from the hospital early…


End file.
